Raindrops
by slightlysickpsycho
Summary: "'Where are your shoes'Tonks asked. They stared down at Luna's bare feet, caked in mud and slightly bruised.  Luna's cheeks tinged pink. It took her a moment to respond. 'It was just a prank. And I don't mind going barefoot so very much.'"


Disclaimer: Nothing from the books is mine! This story is for perverted amusement only.

Tonks hated the rain. She slumped against a well sheltered tree along the edge of the Forbidden Forest and lit a joint. She was at Hogwarts on guard duty, but it hadn't escaped her notice that lately there was almost always an extra person scheduled for missions she participated in.

She was the youngest in the Order. Most of the other members seemed to see her as a little girl, and no matter how much she rebelled against it, everyone treated her like she still needed to be sheltered and protected. It didn't matter that most of them had been her age and younger when they first fought Voldemort years ago. She was well aware that of them wanted her innocent hands stained with blood.

She took another drag, letting her eyes drift shut as the smoke swirled lazily in her lungs. Rainy weather wasn't all bad, she supposed, on just the right kind of day. The wind made her body tingle when a storm was raging, and sometimes when the air hung thick with mist on a cool crisp day, skin she left exposed to the open air felt the dewy softness of cool kisses from barely tangible lips.

"Hello, Nymphadora." Tonks nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened her eyes and saw a girl standing uncomfortably close to her. She couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen. Her composure, along with the delicately flawless curves of her tiny body made her seem much older than that, but she had an unusually young looking face. The girl's dreamy blue eyes were wide and innocent, her mouth small and pink. She wore no makeup.

"Hi." Tonks tried to remember the pale girl's name. She was in Ginny's year and it seemed like the two of them spent a lot of time together. A strange creature, that one was. Feeling a pang of guilt, she remembered the girl's named after thinking about how Ron had always called her "Loony" behind her back. "What are you doing out here, Luna?"

Luna smiled, and she looked even younger then, staring up through the silvery blonde hair that fell all around her face, long and messy, tangled by the mist and rain.

"I thought I'd go out for a walk. It's such a lovely evening." the quiet, melodic voice carried an aching sadness.

"Where are your shoes?" They stared down at Luna's bare feet, caked in mud and slightly bruised.

Luna's cheeks tinged pink and her eyes grew slightly glassy. It took her a moment to respond.

"It was just a prank. And I don't mind going barefoot so very much."

"You shouldn't be out of the castle alone like this at night. There's a war going on. You could be killed. Terrible things are happening now, Luna. You have to stay safe. Don't risk your life for stupid reasons. You're going to have to risk your life for a lot of very good reasons soon if things keep going the way they have been."

"I should try not to die a stupid way because then I wouldn't live to die in a more honorable way, later?"

"I'm saying that your life is worth a lot, Luna, and you should protect it."

And then Luna had smiled that heartbreaking smile, everything about her face perfectly blissful and serene, except for those turbulent blue orbs swirling with almost unbearable despair. "What are you smoking, Nymphadora?"

"Please, don't call me that. I'm Tonks."

"I believe you are trying to dodge the question, Tonks." Those unbearably innocent blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"What do you think I'm smoking?"

"Is it safe to assume that you are not smoking tobacco? I don't smoke tobacco."

"You're too young to be thinking about smoking anything."

Those unnerving eyes focused intensely on Tonks, until shifting uncomfortably, she sighed and gave in.

"My watch is over in half an hour, but I'm staying close by in case something happens, even though I kind of doubt they'd let me help if it did. If you want, you can come with me and we'll get you cleaned up." She passed Luna the joint. "Knock yourself out, kid. This one's almost out. You can just finish it."

Tonks let her back sink against the tree as she slid to the ground and reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small, colorful pipe and a shiny pink tin. Luna watched with detached interest as the older girl's left hand fumbled for a hidden catch and after a moment, the tin popped open.

"Are you angry with me now?" Luna's voice was barely audible, blue eyes never moving from the scarred fingers packing Tonks' pipe.

Tonks let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not mad at you, Luna. You know how much trouble I'd get in if anyone found out I was letting you do this, don't you?"

"I'm not going to tell, Nymphadora. Are you?"

"Tonks."

Luna followed Tonks through sweet smelling grass tall enough to tickle their elbows. They were in an unused field that wasn't far from Hogsmeade. As they drew closer to their destination, Tonks pointed out where the top of a generic looking dome tent stuck out of the grass. Luna hadn't said a word since they had started walking. She stared with avid fascination at each tree they passed, as though she had never walked through a forest at dusk before. The trees were hazy silhouettes painted in strange colors.

Tonks didn't know why Luna thought tonight was so beautiful. Shining blue eyes desperately devoured everything around them.


End file.
